Hydraulic label die cutting machine

ABSTRACT

A simple hydraulically operated label die cutting machine wherein the ram which forces a stack of labels through the cutting die, and a shuttle which moves a stack of labels into position over the ram, are both hydraulically operated. The shuttle and ram operate in timed relation to each other automatically. Provision is made for jogging either the ram or the shuttle independently of each other. A safety switch is provided to stop the machine if the operator&#39;&#39;s hand is still on a stack of labels being moved into position by the shuttle when the stack of labels is about to enter into position over the ram. Additional safety for the operator is provided by relatively low pressure operation of the piston which actuates the shuttle, so that the shuttle can be held manually without great exertion. The cutting die is held by two pairs of mutually opposed chuck jaws whereby the die may be adjusted linearly in two directions at right angles to each other, and the chuck jaws are mounted on a plate which may be rotated and clamped in the desired position for the rotational alignment with the stack. The die holding portion of the machine is anchored to the main machine frame which carries the ram cylinder by means of corner posts, which thus take the strain of the die cutting operation.

[ June 26, 1973 United States Patent [191 Maschinot HYDRAULIC LABEL DIECUTTING [57] ABSTRACT A simple hydraulically operated label die cuttingma- I MACHINE [75] Inventor: Howard R. Maschinot, Erlanger, Ky.

Assignee: The Printing Machinery Company,

[73] chine wherein the ram which forces a stack of labels CincinnatiOhio through the cutting die, and a shuttle which moves a stack oflabels into position over the ram, are both hy- June 17, 1970 Appl. No.:47,019

[ Filedi draulically operated. The shuttle and ram operate in timedrelation to each other automatically. Provision is made for joggingeither the ram or the shuttle independently of each other. Asafetyswitch is provided to stop the machine if the operator's hand isstill on a stack of labels being moved into position by the shuttle whenthe stack of labels is about to enter into position over theram.Additional safety for the Operator is provided by relatively lowpressure operation of the piston which actuates the shuttle, so that theshuttle can be held 90 8 7 3 3%3 M 3 2 8 mm?- 2 on m 7 9 m 1 8 6 2 m6 2.5 2 ha] M WW 8 n m mm9 H ""3 U ""6 m m m4 r 3 8 .I C 10 s cm te I I] UImF .1 ll. 2 8 5 55 [rL References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS manuallywithout great exertion. The cutting die is held by two pairs of mutuallyopposed chuck jaws whereby the die may be adjusted linearly in twodirections at right angles to each other, and the chuck jaws are mountedon a plate which may be rotated and clamped in the desired position forthe rotational alignment with the stack. The die holding portion of themachine is anchored to the main machine frame which carries the ramcylinder by means of corner posts, which thus take the strain of the diecutting operation.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 83/568 X 83/123 X 83/699 X 83/566 X 83/639 X83/278 X 1 a a s i a Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz' AssistantExaminerLeon Gilden Attorney-Melville, Strasser, Foster and Hoffman scamPatented June 26, 1973 3,741,057

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVENTOR/S HOWARD R MASCHINOT ATTORNEYS Patented June26, 1973 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS HOWARD R MASCHINOT BY m ATTORNEYS//w(m FIG-4 HYDRAULIC LABEL DIE CUTTING MACHINE BRIEF SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION In the past, label die cutting machines have been mechanicalin operation. This involved the use of a fly wheel and variouseccentrics and mechanical linkages which made these machines heavy andexpensive. According to the present invention the ram and shuttle arehydraulically operated, thus making the machine much lighter andconsiderably less expensive. Hydraulic operation also makes possible abuilt-in safety feature which will be described in more detailhereinafter.

A pump is driven by an electric motor and feeds a hydraulic circuitincluding the ram cylinder and the shuttle cylinder. The movement of theram piston is controlled by a four-way valve which in one position feedsfluid below the piston to move the ram up and in another position feedsfluid above the piston to move the ram down. Fluid also passes throughthis valve to feed a shuttle circuit.

The shuttle circuit feeds the shuttle cylinder through a four-way valvewhich inone position causes the piston to move the shuttle in and inanother position to move the shuttle out. The shuttle circuit isprovided with a pressure relief by-pass valve to sump and this pressurerelief valve is set at a relatively low pressure, say 65 psi, while theram circuit operates at, say 1,100 psi. All the valves are solenoidoperated and the solenoids are actuated by several limit switches atappropriate times.

The die holding portion of the machine is secured to the main frame .ofthe machine by heavy corner posts which take the entire die cutting loadof the machine. The corner posts are actually screws whichiareinterconnected and by means of which the vertical position of the dieholder may be adjusted. Thecutting die is held by means of two pairs ofchuck jaws disposed in guides at right angles to each other. Byadvancing one jaw of a pair while retracting theother, the die may beadjusted along one axis. By similar operation of the other pair of jaws,the die may be adjusted along an axis at right angles to the first axis.The several chuck jaws are mounted on'a plate whichmay be rotated andthen clamped in a desired position so that the die may be rotationallyadjusted as well. i t An electric circuit is provided, includingswitches and valve operated solenoids, and is arranged so that eitherthe ram or the shuttle may be jogged individually for setting upadjustment, or the machine may be caused to operate automatically withthe shuttle and ram operating in relation to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a isometric view of the baseof the machine with the die holding portion removed.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the die holding portion of the machine.

FIG. 3 is a detailed exploded isometric view of one of the chuck jawsshowing its construction.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevational view with parts shown invertical cross section.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the safety switch mechanism as seen fromthe front of the machine.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the hydraulic circuit; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the electrical circuit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Basically, as seen in FIG. 1, the machine frame isenclosed within a cabinet 10. At the top of this cabinet is the feedingtable 11 and the die holding portion of the machine is supported on thescrews 12 shown fragmentarily in FIG. 1. The ram 13 rises through anaperture 14 in the table to force a stack of labels placed thereonupwardly through the cutting die. The labelsare moved into positionon'the ram by means of a shuttle 15 passing through a slot 16 in thetable 11.

The top plate 17 is adjustable vertically by means of the somewhatdiagrammatically shown mechanism including a nut on each of the screws12 associated with a sprocket 12a and with all of the sprockets 12aembraced by a sprocket chain 12b. The sprocket associated with the screw12 at the left of FIG. 2 is provided with a wrench element 18 and whenthis wrench is turned, the sprocket associated therewith transmitsrotation to all the other sprockets through the chain 12b and therebythe plate 17 is raised or lowered.

The top plate 17 has a circular aperture 19 and rotatably mountedimmediately beneath it isthe lower plate 20 which has the squareaperture 21. The plate 20 carries a plurality of studs 22 on whichrollers 23 are mounted and the rollers 23 engage the inner periphery ofthe circular aperture 12 in the top plate 17. A plurality of clampmembers 24 serve to clamp the bottom plate 20 in position withrespect tothe top plate 17. R0- tary adjustment of the plate 20 is accomplished asbest seen in FIG. 4 by means of a screw 25 axially fixed ina dependinglug 26 forming a part of the top plate. The screw 25 passes in threadedengagement with a lug 27 secured to the bottom plate 20. A hand wheel 28is provided so that by rotation of thewheel 28 the plate 20 may beaccurately rotated with respect to the plate 17. Since, as will bebrought out hereinafter, the die is held by means of chuck jaws securedto the plate 20, it will be clearthat actuation of the wheel 28 producesrotational adjustment of the die.

Secured to the underside of the plate 20'are guides 29 for the chuckjaws. There are two pairs of the guides 29 for each pair being axiallyaligned and the pairs being disposed at right angles to each other. Thechuck jaws proper are indicated at 30, and they slide within the guides29. Their movement is controlled by means of screws 31 provided withknobs 32 and it will be seen that the chuck jaws are provided with theaxial groove or slot 33 to accommodate the screws 31 and that a nuthaving a threaded hole to engage the screw 31, and indicated at 34, isdisposed in a transverse slot 35 in the chuck jaw 30. It will be clearfrom the foregoing that by rotating the wheel 32, the chuck jaw 30 isadvanced or retracted.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that by 'retracting one andadvancing the other chuck jaw of a pair, the position of the die alongone axis may be adjusted. Similarly, by advancing one and retracting theother of the other pair of chuck jaws, the position of the die may beadjusted alongan axis at right angles to the first mentioned axis.

Guides 36 for the stack of labels are provided as is conventional andthese guides are adjusted by means of the screws 37 as is well known inthe art.

The ram is indicated in FIG. 4 at 38 as being near the top of its strokeand the ram is actuated by a piston 39 operating within a cylinder 40(FIG. 6).

THE HYDRAULIC CIRCUIT With reference to FIG. 6, there is shown a fixedvolume pump PF driven by an electric motor EM. The pump is suppliedthrough a strainer STR. A maximum pressure relief valve 41 is providedin the pressure line from the pump. Fluid from the pump is fed to theram circuit through a four-way valve 42 operated by the solenoids 42aand 42b. When the valve 42 moves to the right, fluid from the pumppasses through the line 43 and the valve and the line 44 to the top ofthe cylinder 40 to move the piston 39 down. The return flow passesthrough the line 45 and the valve 42 into the line 46 and thence throughthe valve 47 to the sump 48 when the valve 47 is in neutral position.When the valve 42 is moved to the left, fluid from the line 43 crossesover to the line 45 and enters the cylinder below the piston 39 to movethe piston up and the return flow passes through the line 44 and crossesover in the valve 42 into the line 46 as before.

The shuttle cylinder is indicated at 49 and the shuttle piston at 50.The movement of the shuttle is controlled by the valve 47 which isoperated by the solenoids 47a and 47b. When the valve 47 moves to theright, fluid in the line 46 flows through the line 51 to the left sideof the cylinder 40 to move the shuttle in. The return flow passesthrough the line 52 and the valve 47 to the sump 48 through a filterFLT. When the valve 47 is moved to the left, fluid from the line 46crosses over into the line 52 and enters the cylinder 49 behind thepiston 50 to move the shuttle in. The return flow through the line 51crosses over in the valve 47 to the line 53 and returns to the sump 48.A pressure relief by-pass valve is indicated at 54 and is set at arelatively low value. Thus, by way of example, the pressure in the ramcircuit may be on the order of 1,100 psi and thus the line 46 leadingfrom the valve 42 would carry approximately 1,100 psi. The valve 54 maybe set at a figure of, say 65 psi, so that pressure at the valve 47 isthus limited to about 65 psi by virtue of the by-pass to sump throughthe check valve 54. This provides an inherent safety feature in the.apparatus in that with a relatively low pressure on the shuttle piston,an average operator can hold the shuttle against movement withoutexerting a great deal of strength. Nevertheless, an additional safetyfeature is provided which will be described in connection with theelectrical circuit.

THE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT Referring now to FIG. 7, the electrical supply isprovided by the leads 55, 56. A main disconnect switch is shown at 57and the motor which drives the pump is indicated at M. The motor isprovided with the usual overload limit switches as well known in theart. A pilot light is indicated at PL. Across the lines 55 and 56 is acircuit including the safety switch LS1, a stop button, a start buttonprovided with a holding circuit and a control relay CR1. When the startbutton is depressed, a holding circuit is set up as is well known, sothat it is not necessary to hold the start button in; and this energizesCR1 which actuates to close the contacts CR1-A and open thecontactsCRl-B. The opening of the contact CR1-B cuts out the shuttle andram jogging circuit and energizes the automatic in and out" and up anddown circuits. The various limit switches in these circuits aredesignated by the letters LS plus a numeral and it will be seen thatcertain of them are paired with one being normally closed and one beingnormally open. In the caseof LS1, it will be seen that this is pairedwith LS1-A, both of which are normally closed. This is the safetyswitch. The switches LS4 and LS4-A are paired with one being normallyopen and the other being normally closed. Similarly, LS5 and LS5-Aconstitute a pair, one of them being normally closed and the other beingnormally open, and the same is true of LS6 and LS6-A.

In the position of the various switches shown in FIG. 7, when the startswitch is pressed and held in by the holding circuit generally indicatedat 58, the control relay CR1 operates to close the contact CR1-A,energizing the automatic in and out and up and down circuits and opensthe contacts CR1-B to the jogging circuits. Current passes through theswitches LS4-A and LS6-A to move the valve 42 to the down position. Whenthe ram reaches the bottom of the stroke, LS6 is actuated to open theswitch LS6-A and close LS6. This shifts the valve 42 to stop downmovement of the ram and shifts the valve 47 to start in movement of theshuttle.

At the end of the shuttle in stroke, the shuttle operates LS2, closingit to energize the ram up circuit through LS1-A. As the ram starts up,it actuates LS4 to maintain the ram up" circuit and also opens LS4-A inthe ram down circuit. It will be seen that LS4 takes over from LS2 inholding the up circuit closed. Initial movement of the ram also actuatesLS5 to open LS5 and close LS5-A to energize the shuttle out circuit. LS5is actuated by a long cam shown in FIG. 4 at 59 which holds the shuttleout until the ram returns to the bottom of its stroke. As the shuttlereaches the end of its out movement, it actuates LS3 to open the shuttleout circuit and stop the shuttle in its out" position. As the ramreaches the top of its stroke, LS4 rides off the long cam 60 to open theram up circuit and energizes the ram down circuit.

The safety switch LS1 is mounted in a position to be actuated by thehand or arm of an operator when his hand or arm is still positioning thelabel stack while the shuttle is moving in. The safety switch is shownin more detail in FIG. 5. It has an actuating button 61 which is held inposition to maintain LS1 closed by means of an arm 62 pivoted at 63 andbiased in a counterclockwise direction by a hairpin spring 64. Anactuator plate 65 is pivoted at 66 and pivotally connected to the arm 62at 67. As seen in FIG. 5 (or as viewed from the front of the machine),the shuttle would move'toward the left and the plate 65 is positioned tobe hit by. the hand or arm of an operator. When the plate 65 is touchedit rocks in a clockwise direction about at pivot 66 and by virtue of thegeneral connection 67 it rocks the arm 62 in a clockwise direction aboutto pivot 63 against the bias of the spring 64 and thus permits thebottom 61 to move toward the right to open LS1. As clearly seen in thewiring diagram, the opening of LS1 and LS1-A opens the ram up circuitand also opens the circuit to CR1 to stop the machine.

The jogging circuit can only be used before the start button is pushedor after LS1 has been actuated or opened. Under those conditions, CR1-Ais open to cut out the automatic circuits and CR1-B is closed toenergize the jogging circuits. A separate in and out switch is providedfor the shuttle and for the ram and these are useful in setting up anadjustment.

It will be clear that modifications may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention and, therefore, no limitation not expresslyset forth in the claims is intended or should be implied.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A label die cutting machine comprising a main frame, a verticallydisposed ram cylinder mounted in said frame, a piston in said cylinder,a ram connected to said piston, a die holder secured to said frame in acoaxial position above said ram, said ram, when moved upwardly by saidpistons, being adapted to force a stack of labels positioned on said ramthrough a die held in said die holder to cut the same, said machinehaving a slotted table extended laterally, a shuttle cylinderhorizontally mounted under said table, a piston in said shuttlecylinder, a shuttle on said table and connected to said shuttle pistonthrough said slot, and adapted, upon energization of the shuttle piston,to push a stack of labels placed on said table into position on saidram, a hydraulic circuit including a pump and solenoid actuated valvesfor feeding hydraulic fluid to said ram cylinder and said shuttlecylinder, and limit switches in an electric circuit including saidsolenoids and a motor for driving said pump, said limit switches beingactuated by said ram and shuttle respectively to cause the ram andshuttle pistons to operate in timed relation to each other, said dieholder comprising a top plate having a circular aperture, a bottom platehaving an aperture, said bottom plate having a plurality of verticallydisposed rollers engaging the inner periphery of the circular aperturein said top plate, whereby it may be rotationally adjusted with respectto said top plate, a plurality of clamps for clamping said bottom plateto said top plate in a desired position of adjustment, said bottom platecarrying two pairs of adjustable chuck jaws disposed at right angles toeach other.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein each of said chuck jawscomprises a rectangular block mounted for sliding movement in guides insaid bottom plate, said block having an axial groove to accommodate ascrew and a transverse slot to accommodate a nut, a nut of aconfigurationto fit snugly in said transcured to said bottom plate inaxially fixed position and extending in said axial slot and passing inthreaded engagement through said nut.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said pump feeds fluid atrelatively high pressure to a circuit including said ram cylinderthrough a four-way valve, which in one position passes fluid to thebottom of said cylinder to raise the ram, and in another position passesfluid to the top of the cylinder to lower the ram, and also at all timespasses fluid to a circuit to the shuttle cylinder; said shuttle cylindercircuit including a pressure relief by-pass valve to limit the fluidpressure in said shuttle cylinder circuit to a relatively low value,said shuttle cylinder circuit including a four-way valve which in oneposition passes fluid to one end of the shuttle cylinder to move theshuttle in and in another position passes fluid to the other end of theshuttle cylinder to move the shuttle out.

4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein the ram control valve ismoved to the up position by a solenoid energized by actuation of a limitswitch at the end of the in stroke of the shuttle, and is moved .to adown position by actuation of a solenoid energized by a limit switch atthe top of the stroke of the ram.

5. A machine according to claim 3, wherein the shuttle control valve ismoved to the in position by a solenoid energized by actuation of a limitswitch at the bottom of 'a stroke of the ram, and is moved to the outposition by an actuation of a solenoid energized by a limit switch atthe beginning of the up stroke of the ram.

6. A machine according to claim 3, wherein a normally closed safetyswitch is disposed to be opened by the hand or arm of an operator if theoperators hand or arm is still on a stack of labels being pushed by ashuttle into position on the ram, the opening of said safety switchpreventing up movement of the ram and stopping in movement of theshuttle.

7.. A machine according to claim 3, wherein jogging circuits areprovided for inching the ram up or down and for inching the shuttle inor out, said jogging circuits being actuatable only when the main in andout and up and down circuits are deverse slot and having a threaded holein alignment with activated.

said axial groove, and an adjusting screw rotatably se-

1. A label die cutting machine comprising a main frame, a verticallydisposed ram cylinder mounted in said frame, a piston in said cylinder,a ram connected to said piston, a die holder secured to said frame in acoaxial position above said ram, said ram, when moved upwardly by saidpistons, being adapted to force a stack of labels positioned on said ramthrough a die held in said die holder to cut the same, said machinehaving a slotted table extended laterally, a shuttle cylinderhorizontally mounted under said table, a piston in said shuttlecylinder, a shuttle on said table and connected to said shuttle pistonthrough said slot, and adapted, upon energization of the shuttle piston,to push a stack of labels placed on said table into position on saidram, a hydraulic circuit including a pump and solenoid actuated valvesfor feeding hydraulic fluid to said ram cylinder and said shuttlecylinder, and limit switches in an electric circuit including saidsolenoids and a motor for driving said pump, said limit switches beingactuated by said ram and shuttle respectively to cause the ram andshuttle pistons to operate in timed relation to each other, said dieholder comprising a top plate having a circular aperture, a bottom platehaving an aperture, said bottom plate having a plurality of verticallydisposed rollers engaging the inner periphery of the circular aperturein said top plate, whereby it may be rotationally adjusted with respectto said top plate, a plurality of clamps for clamping said bottom plateto said top plate in a desired position of adjustment, said bottom platecarrying two pairs of adjustable chuck jaws disposed at right angles toeach other.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein each of saidchuck jaws comprises a rectangular block mounted for sliding movement inguides in said bottom plate, said block having an axial groove toaccommodate a screw and a transverse slot to accommodate a nut, a nut ofa configuration to fit snugly in said transverse slot and having athreaded hole in alignment with said axial groove, and an adjustingscrew rotatably secured to said bottom plate in axially fixed positionand extending in said axial slot and passing in threaded engagementthrough said nut.
 3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said pumpfeeds fluid at relatively high pressure to a circuit including said ramcylinder through a four-way valve, which in one position passes fluid tothe bottom of said cylinder to raise the ram, and in another positionpasses fluid to the top of the cylinder to lower the ram, and also atall times passes fluid to a circuit to the shuttle cylinder; saidshuttle cylinder circuit including a pressure relief by-pass valve tolimit the fluid pressure in said shuttle cylinder circuit to arelatively low value, said shuttle cylinder circuit including a four-wayvalve which in one position passes fluid to one end of the shuttlecylinder to move the shuttle in and in another position passes fluid tothe other end of the shuttle cylinder to move the shuttle out.
 4. Amachine according to claim 3, wherein the ram control valve is moved tothe ''''up'''' position by a solenoid energized by actuation of a limitswitch at the end of the ''''in'''' stroke of the shuttle, and is movedto a ''''down'''' position by actuation of a solenoid energized by alimit switch at the top of the stroke of the ram.
 5. A machine accordingto claim 3, wherein the shuttle control valve is moved to the ''''in''''position by a solenoid energized by actuation of a limit switch at thebottom of a stroke of the ram, and is moved to the ''''out'''' positionby an actuation of a solenoid energized by a limit switch at thebeginning of the ''''up'''' stroke of the ram.
 6. A machine according toclaim 3, wherein a normally closEd safety switch is disposed to beopened by the hand or arm of an operator if the operator''s hand or armis still on a stack of labels being pushed by a shuttle into position onthe ram, the opening of said safety switch preventing ''''up''''movement of the ram and stopping ''''in'''' movement of the shuttle. 7.A machine according to claim 3, wherein jogging circuits are providedfor inching the ram ''''up'''' or ''''down'''' and for inching theshuttle ''''in'''' or ''''out,'''' said jogging circuits beingactuatable only when the main ''''in'''' and ''''out'''' and ''''up''''and ''''down'''' circuits are deactivated.